James Maddison says he has been left pinching himself with Tottenham's new wave of teenage talent.
But Ange Postecoglou is unlikely to throw a quartet of academy stars in at the deep end away to Ferencvaros on Thursday evening because Spurs are on a mission to seal their progress to the knockout stages with minimal fuss.
Out of favour Sergio Reguilon is also in Budapest despite not being part of the squad submitted to UEFA alongside young hopefuls Alfie Dorrington, Dante Cassanova, Damola Ajayi and Will Lankshear.
Yet Postecoglou is expected to name a strong team against the Hungarian league leaders, managed by London-born Pascal Jansen.
And Big Ange downplayed the chances of an experimental line-up by admitting the kids have mostly travelled to make up the numbers in training.
“It’s a balance that we need 20 players for training,“ Postecoglou said. “But we brought a couple of young guys and Reguilon to make sure our training is really good.”
However winger Mikey Moore, 17, is an exception. He could feature off the bench having made three cameos in the past fortnight. And Maddison has been blown away by both the teenager’s potential and maturity, saying: “He's a man already.
“When I watch him play, he's very powerful and only going to get stronger as his body grows. He's a great kid. A really well-mannered, polite young man and that's a credit to his parents.
“That's the first thing you look to as a senior player. And then there's that ability which we see in training all the time and the Spurs fans want to see more of. I try to think of what the 17-year-old James Maddison would want to hear from a senior player and it's to be treated like a man but also give advice whenever possible.”
Maddison, meanwhile, admits he still has a point to prove after being omitted from England’s Euros squad. Postecoglou has described his chief creator’s recent form as “outstanding” and Maddison is putting it down to have a summer break that allowed him to return fully fit.
“I always want to prove doubters wrong and that's where I get my hunger from,” he said. “I feel really fit, maybe the fittest I've ever been. I feel confident and alive. I can only take care of what I do at a club level.”
Cristian Romero is likely to start having been banned for last Thursday’s 3-0 win against Qarabag, where Radu Dragusin was sent off and handed a suspension that he will serve tonight.
Captain Heung-min Son has stayed in London to continue his recovery from a hamstring strain.
And full back Destiny Udogie is ruled out with an issue sustained on Sunday that Postecoglou described as “nothing significant.”